Day in and day out, we are staring at our computer screens at work and then staring at our phone in the gaps between work. We know that these behaviors aren’t beneficial to our mental health, our posture, or sleep patterns, but we do it anyway. If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that blue light glasses are all the rage these days because we now know that blue light emission is not a joke. We’re absorbing blue light more than ever before, and there are consequences.
Blue light is a short wavelength visible light that can be perceived as blue or white. “Blue light is of concern because it has more energy per photon of light than other colors in the visible spectrum” (Ramsey, 2019). Blue light from the sun plays a critical part in our daily lives by setting our circadian rhythms and boosting our energy. Absorbing blue light at night from our devices, however, can lead to disrupted circadian rhythms and decreased quality of sleep.
“Blue light passes through the cornea and lens to the retina causing diseases such as dry eye, cataract, age-related macular degeneration, even stimulating the brain, inhibiting melatonin secretion, and enhancing adrenocortical hormone production, which will destroy the hormonal balance and directly affect sleep quality.” (Zhao, Zhou, Tan & Li, 2018).
It makes sense that our eyes are absorbing all of this blue light since we’re staring at our screens, but what about our skin? Is blue light damaging our skin health?
The jury is still out on this one but there are a few studies with supporting evidence. A 2017 study, showed that blue light from sunlight did produce skin aging effects similar to UVA rays. In 2018, another journal article talks about multiple reports of light from electronic devices contributing to, “the generation of reactive oxygen species. Skin is a major target of oxidative stress and the link between aging and oxidative stress is well documented” (Arjmandi, N., Mortazavi, G., Zarei, S., Faraz, M., & Mortazavi, S., 2018). There’s also evidence that blue light can affect skin barrier recovery and worsening hyperpigmentation, such as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and melasma (Denda, Mitsuhiro, et al., 2008).
Based on these few studies, we can’t definitively say that blue light is causing significant skin damage but it seems like research is hinting that there could be some negative effects. Oxidative stress caused by UV radiation plays a major role in skin aging so if blue light is anything like UVA, we should be worried.
Sources:
Arjmandi, N., Mortazavi, G., Zarei, S., Faraz, M., & Mortazavi, S. (2018). Can Light Emitted from Smartphone Screens and Taking Selfies Cause Premature Aging and Wrinkles?. Journal of biomedical physics & engineering, 8(4), 447–452.
Denda, Mitsuhiro et al. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Volume 128, Issue 5, 1335–1336
Nakashima, Y., Ohta, S., & Wolf, A. M. (2017). Blue light-induced oxidative stress in live skin. Free radical biology and medicine, 2017. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2017.03.010.
Visible Radiation Affects Epidermal Permeability Barrier Recovery: Selective Effects of Red and Blue Light
Zhao, Z. C., Zhou, Y., Tan, G., & Li, J. (2018). Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes. International journal of ophthalmology, 11(12), 1999–2003. doi:10.18240/ijo.2018.12.20.
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